Advanced Vibrational Spectroscopies – from Developments in Physical Chemistry to Biomedical Applications

Vibrational spectroscopy has evolved from a core discipline of physical chemistry into a powerful tool in the life sciences, offering deep insights into molecular structures, dynamics, and interactions at an unprecedented level. Recent breakthroughs in ultrafast, surface-sensitive, and super-resolution techniques have propelled vibrational spectroscopy beyond traditional limitations. Molecular dynamics can be tracked at vibrational time-scales revealing transient structures and reaction pathways with intimate detail, detection limits are lowered towards few molecules using plasmonic platforms, and vibrational nanoscale imaging approaches now rival fluorescence super-resolution microscopy. As vibrational spectroscopies have been of great importance in fundamental to applied life sciences, the
recent (nano)technological advancements hold great potential to further enhance such research. As such, fascinating phenomena that tune (bio)chemical reactivity via the structure and dynamics of the surrounding environment, for instance, electrostatic or (nano)confined conditions can be studied at greater detail. At the same time, the improvements in resolution and detection limits open new frontiers in biomedically relevant applications such as nanoscale bioanalytics and label-free disease diagnostics. This meeting will bring together leading experts and emerging researchers to explore these advancements, discuss current challenges, and highlight the exciting opportunities vibrational spectroscopy offers for unveiling the complex interplay of molecular structure and function in biological and medical contexts.
 

The conference language will be English. The Wilhelm and Else Heraeus-Foundation bears the cost of full-board accommodation for all participants.